Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil)’s Panipat refinery is the first facility in the country to gain certification to produce co-processed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), according to a Biofuels Digest report citing a Times of India article.
The refinery co-processes used cooking oil (UCO) with conventional aviation fuel to produce SAF, according to the 12 August report.
Testing, inspection and certification provider Cotecna Inspection India – part of the Cotecna group – which approved the facility, recently became India’s first CORSIA ISCC certifying body, the report said.
One of the largest petrochemicals players in India, IndianOil has a production capacity of 3,315 kilotonnes/year, according to its website.
Company activities include the exploration and production of crude oil and gas, petrochemicals, gas marketing, alternative energy sources and globalisation of downstream operations.
It also has subsidiaries in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, the UAE, Sweden, USA and the Netherlands and has set up more than 15 joint ventures with business partners in India and overseas.
The company owns and operates 10 group refineries and in 2024/25 recorded sales of over 100M tonnes.
India’s strategy is to scale up SAF production significantly over the next few years with co-processing as a first step, moving on to a SAF blending target of 1% for all international flights by 2027, increasing that to 2% within a few years, according to the report.
At the time of the report, SAF had not been approved for commercial flights in India.
